The present invention relates to a heat source apparatus of the ice storage type for performing a cold storing operation and the air-conditioning operation utilizing the cold storage, or in particular to a heat source apparatus of the ice storage type having the function of the scheduled operation in which the starting and ending time of the cold storage operation and the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation are set for each day.
In the prior art, JP-A-11-132533 discloses a method in which the cold storage operation time is changed at the time of starting the cold storage operation based on the residual cold stored in the heat storage tank in order to eliminate the overage and shortage of the amount of cold stored.
The residual stored cold occurs on a day (a day of the week) when the setting of the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation is canceled in the scheduled operation, i.e. on a day when the air-conditioning operation is not performed as scheduled in spite of the cold storage operation performed on the immediately preceding day. In the prior art described above, the apparatus is controlled to limit the cold storage operation time based on the residual stored cold in preparation for the following day in the case where the air-conditioning operation is set for the following day, and therefore the stored cold amount may run short and the load may not be met as required for the air-conditioning operation on the following day.
The object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described and above and to provide a user-friendly heat source apparatus of the ice storage type in which even in the case where the air-conditioning operation is canceled for a given day, the shortage of the stored cold amount for the air-conditioning operation on the next day is conveniently prevented while at the same time assuring efficient utilization of the stored by reducing the consumption of extraneous power due to excessive cold storage.
According to the present invention, in order to solve the problem mentioned above, there is provided a heat source apparatus of the ice storage type comprising a heat source unit, a cold storage tank connected to the heat source unit, a water level sensor for measuring the stored cold amount by detecting the water level of the cold storage tank, and an operation panel having a menu screen for setting the starting and ending time of the cold storage operation and the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation, wherein the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation can be canceled and a predetermined stored cold amount can be set from the operation panel.
Even in the case where the air-conditioning operation is canceled on a given day, a predetermined stored cold amount can be set easily on the operation panel, and therefore the required stored cold amount can be secured for the air-conditioning load for the next day. In this way, the shortage and overage of the stored cold amount can be prevented, and the power consumption can be suppressed to achieve a flexible, economical operation.
According to this invention, the heat source apparatus of the ice storage type described above preferably comprises an operation panel including a liquid crystal display screen, a DISPLAY/SET switching key, and an UP key and a DOWN key for vertically scrolling the menu screen on display.
Also, in the heat source apparatus according to the invention described above, the predetermined stored cold amount that can be set can be preferably selected from among a plurality of stages.
Further, in the heat source apparatus according to the invention described above, whether the cold storage operation is carried out or not can be preferably selected after canceling the setting of the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation.
Furthermore, according to this invention, there is provided a heat source apparatus of the ice storage type comprising a heat source unit, a cold storage tank connected to the heat source unit, a water level sensor for measuring the stored cold amount by detecting the water level in the cold storage tank, a means for setting the starting and ending time of the cold storage operation and the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation, means for canceling the setting of the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation, a means for determining whether the cold storage operation is carried out or not after canceling the setting of the starting and ending time of the air-conditioning operation, and a means for selecting the stored heat amount which is not higher than 100% in a plurality of levels.
In addition, according to this invention, the cold storage operation is desirably carried out until the water level detected by the water level sensor reaches the level at which the cold storage operation is complete.
Moreover, the heat source apparatus according to this invention preferably comprises a means for setting the stored cold amount, wherein the cold storage operation is preferably carried out until the water level detected by the water level sensor reaches a value corresponding to the set stored cold amount.